Community met at Brighton HS about child porn charges against teacher

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — ‘Betrayal’ was the word repeated time and time again at Brighton High School on Wednesday night, as parents and students talked about the high school teacher arrested on child porn charges.

District administrators addressed their concerns, saying 44-year-old Louis Carsoune is on unpaid suspension.

A member from the U.S. Attorney’s Office was also at the meeting. We got insight into the charges Carusone is facing, and according to the attorney’s office, there were no child porn cases related to the school.

“What this target is charged with is possession and receiving child pornography,” assistant U.S. Attorney, Melissa Marangola said. “It had nothing to do with anything that happened in the school.”

The criminal complaint says the physics teacher took 11 photos of students inside Brighton High School. The U.S. Attorney’s office says over the course of the investigation so far, it doesn’t believe Carusone committed the federal crimes while inside the school. It took a little while into the meeting before any parents spoke up.

One parent whose child was a student of Carsoune asked the district how it’s navigating red flag conversations and repeated what her child told her.

“They’re making me feel guilty like I missed something, and to me, that was like salt in the wound,” one parent said, who did not disclose her name. “They feel like a victim, but they also feel like they missed a sign that should have been there.”

Bivona Child Advocacy Center stepped in, saying the center has had group sessions with students, freshmen to seniors, and talked about those red flags and what they mean.

“What we educate them on is their role in keeping themselves safe,” Daniele Lyman-Torres said, Bivona CEO. “They don’t have a role in profiling or screening. Their role is to keep themselves safe.”

Superintendent Kevin McGowan says Carusone was a tenured staff member and he feels just as betrayed as everyone.

“Hurt, pain, so many students, some we know well, including my own children, have had experiences with this person that were positive, for many years, so to feel betrayed by someone, who can you trust, how can you trust them?” McGowan said. “Unfortunately, that’s a reality but not something kids should have to encounter at this point in their lives.”

During the meeting, we also learned that from the internal investigation, no other teachers were involved. There were never any indications this was happening.

Carsuones teaching certification has been suspended. All students who were filmed were notified. The district says services through Bivona will continue to be available for students.